Then she stood.
“Excuse me. I need to verify something.”
She left much faster than she’d entered.
My mother looked terrified.
Not puzzled. Not annoyed.
Terrified.
About five minutes later, two hospital security officers appeared in the hallway.
A doctor walked into the room behind them.
He barely glanced at me.
His attention went straight to her covered wrist.
“Ma’am, would you mind showing me your wrist?”
Mom hesitated.
Then, very slowly, she pulled back her sleeve.
The tiny blue flower appeared.
The doctor stared at it. One second. Two. Three.
“Where did you get this symbol?”
Mom’s face went completely pale.
She said nothing.
The doctor exchanged a glance with one of the security officers.
Then he looked back at her.
“Do you understand what this symbol represents?”
Mom’s fingers began trembling.
Then the doctor turned toward the two officers.
“Please close the door.”
One officer pulled it shut.
